Revise education laws to prohibit certain flags and banners in school and require phrase "In God we trust" displayed in each classroom of a public school
SB 407 would have prohibited public schools in Montana from displaying flags, banners, or symbols promoting social or political causes on school property, while requiring the display of the national motto "In God We Trust" in every classroom. The bill specified that the motto must appear on a minimum 8x10 inch poster or plaque with clear, readable text, and allowed schools to use district funds or donations for this purpose. It also amended existing law to clarify that displaying the motto does not violate rules against distributing sectarian materials. The bill died in committee on May 23, 2025, and is not active legislation.
Bill status
died
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 21, 2025
Last action May 23, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
LC1598.pdf
→
SB0407_1.pdf
·
2 edits
MINOR
The bill was renumbered from LC 1598 to SB 407 and the sponsor list was updated to reflect the current legislative sponsors. The substantive policy content regarding school flags, the 'In God We Trust' motto, and religious activities remains unchanged, though minor formatting adjustments were made to the text.
TECHNICAL
Bill identifier changed from LC 1598 to SB 407.1, and the list of sponsors was updated to include B. Phalen, V. Ricci, M. Yakawich, B. Ler, B. Usher, and T. Tezak.
Minor formatting and capitalization adjustments were made to the text of the bill, such as changing all-caps words to sentence case and renumbering list items.
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
15
Key actions
0
Committee
1
Amendments
1
Feb 28, 2025
Amended
(S) Tabled in Committee - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Feb 24, 2025
Committee
(S) Referred to Committee - (S) Education and Cultural Resources
upper
Feb 21, 2025
Introduced
(S) Introduced
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Bob Phalen
RRepublican
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